Reflections on the Ruin that should come on the Jews. 387 are any of the little Interests of Life, that out of Regard to them we Sect. 161. fhould be willing to continue one Moment longer expofed to a Danger, which may fink us into everlasting Perdition and Defpair! Mark xiii. 15, 16. We have here a lively Defcription of that aggravated Ruin, which was brought upon the Jews for neglecting Chrift; even great Tribulation, Mat. xxiv. fuch as had never from the very Beginning of the World fallen upon any 21. other Nation, nor shall ever be equalled. Thus was his Blood upon them, and their Children. (Mat. xxvii. 25.) May we never know what it is, to have this Blood crying against us, for trampling it under Foot as an unholy Thing! (Heb. x. 29.) For furely to the Jews, who thus rejected the Counfel of GOD against themselves, all thefe Things which they fuffered were but the Beginning of Sorrows; and the Famine and Sedition, Peftilence Ver. 7, 8. and Slaughter, by which fo many Thoufands perifhed, ferved only to confign them over to infinitely more terrible Indignation and Wrath, Tribulation and Anguish, which will at laft fall on every Soul of Man that doth Evil, whether Jew, or Gentile. (Rom. ii. 8. 9.) Thefe unhappy Creatures eagerly liftened to the very Name of a Mes- Mark xiii. fiah, by whomfoever it was affumed; while they rejected him whom 21, 22. GOD had fent them, and who had fo long, and with fo much Importunity, been renewing to them the Offers of Life and Salvation. May none of us ever know the fad Impatience, with which condemned Sinners will with, and wifh in vain, for thofe Overtures and Meffages of Grace, which they now defpife! In that Senfe, wherefoever the Carcafe Mat. xxiv. is, there will the Eagles be gathered together: Where-ever there is the 28. like Unbelief and Impenitence, there will be in its Degree the like Ruin. Christ has graciously told us thefe Things before: May we humbly attend Mark xiii. to the Warning, that none of this Terror and Destruction may ever 23. come upon us! CHRIST defcribes the total Deftruction of the Jewish State by ftrong Figures, many of them literally fuiting the Day of Judgment; to the Mention of which he proceeds, declaring the particular Time of it unknown. Mat. XXIV. 29, ----36. Mark XIII. 24,---32. Luke XXI. 25,---33. LUKE XXI. 25. AND there fhall be Signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, LUKE XXI. 25. UR Lord proceeded in the awful Repre- Sect. 162. O fentation of the Judgments that were coming on Jerufalem, and faid, Before this Defola- 25. Ccc 2 tion Luke XXI. Luke XXI. 25. 388 Sect. 162. tion shall be compleatly come, there shall be (as I told you before, ver. 11.) fome extraordinary Signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, and in the Stars; Eclipfes, Comets, and furprizing Meteors; and on the Earth there fhall be Anguish and Diftrefs of Nations; the Sea, and the proud Waves thereof, roaring, and breaking in upon the Land 26 with an irrefiftible Inundation ; JESUS defcribes the Tribulation of thofe Days. Mat. XXIV. 29. Moon, and in the Stars; and upon the Earth Diftrefs of the Sea, and the Waves roaring; Nations, with Perplexity, 26-Mens Hearts failing them for Fear, and for look are coming on the Earth. While Men For immediately after the Affliction of those that MAT. XXIV. 29. Im mediately after the TribulaSun be darkned, and the Moon fhall not give her Light; and the Stars fhall Powers of the Heavens fhall be fhaken. [MARK XIII. 24, 25. LUKE XXI.-26.] tion of those Days, fhall the fall from Heaven; and the -The (a) Expiring with Fear.] This is the literal Rendering of anoluxovlar aπо Cо68. Signs here fpoken of feem to be fome of the latest of those mentioned in the Writers referred to above, in Notes (g) and (b) on ver. 10, 11. pag. 374, 375. (b) Immediately after the Affliction of thofe Days.] Archbishop Tillotson, and Brennius, with many other learned Interpreters, imagine, that our Lord here makes the Tranfition from the Destruction of Jerufalem, which had been the Subject of his Difcourfe thus far, to the General Judgment: But I think, as it would, on the one hand, be very harsh, to fuppofe all the Sufferings of the Jewish Nation in all Ages, to be called the Tribulation of thofe Days; fo it would, on the other hand, be equally fo, to fay, that the General Judgment, which probably will not commence till at least a Thousand Years after their Reftoration, will happen immediately after their Sufferings; nor can I find any one Inftance, in which sex is ufed in fuch a ftrange Latitude.What is faid below, (in Mat, xxiv. 34. Mark xiii. 30. and Luke xxi. 32. pag. 391.) feems also an unanswerable Objection against fuch an Interpretation. I am obliged therefore to explain this Section as in the Paraphrafe; tho' I acknowledge many of the Figures ufed may with more literal Propriety be applied to the Last Day, to wich there may be a remote, tho' not an immediate Reference. (c) The Sun fhall be darkened, &c.] It was cnftomary with the Prophets, as it ftill is with the Eastern Writers, to defcribe the utter Ruin of States and Kingdoms, not only in general by an universal Darkness, but alfo by fuch ftrong Figures as thofe here used, which all Meffengers fhould be fent to assemble bis Elect. 30 And then fhall appear the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven: and then fhall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn, and they fhall fee the Son of Man coming in Power and great Glory. MARK XIII. 26. LUKE XXI. 27.1 the Clouds of Heaven, with 31 And [then] he fhall fend his Angels with a great Sound of a Trumpet, and they fhall gather together his Elect from the four Winds, the other, [from the uttermoft Part of the Earth, to the uttermoft Part of Heaven.] [MARK XIII. 27.] from one End of Heaven to 389 that Prophetic Language to which you have been Sect. 162. accustomed, the whole Civil and Ecclefiaftical Constitution of the Nation fhall not only be shocked, but totally diffolved. And then hall there evi- Mat. XXIV. dently appear fuch a remarkable Hand of Provi- 30. dence in avenging my Quarrel upon this finful People, that it fhall be like the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven at the Laft Day; and all the Tribes of the Land shall then mourn, and they shall fee the Son of Man, coming as it were in the Clouds of Heaven (d), with Power and great Glory; for that Celestial Army, which shall appear in the Air manshalled round the City, shall be a fure Token to them, that the Angels of GoD, and the great Lord of those Heavenly Hofts, are fet, as it were, in Array against them. And to 31 purfue the Allufion, as at the great Day the Angels fhall in a literal Senfe affemble all his Saints together; fo alfo be fhall then fend forth his MefSengers (e) with the great Sound of his Gospel, as of a loud Trumpet, and they fhall affemble bis Elect from the four Winds, even from one End of the Heavens to the other, or from the uttermost Part of the Earth one Way, to thofe Climates which lie under the uttermoft Part of Heaven the other Way: And Multitudes of all Nations fhall obey the Summons, tho' the Jews have ungratefully and foolishly defpifed it; and the Son of Man fhall be honoured and trufted by Millions now unborn,. when this wicked and perverfe Nation is perished in all have their Foundation in that Way of fpeaking. Compare Ifa. xiii. 10. xxxiv. 4, 10. Ix. 20. Jer. xv. 9. Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8. Joel. ii. 30, 31. iii. 15. and Amos viii. 9. (d) Coming in the Clouds of Heaven.] Sudden and irrefiftible Deftruction, in which much of the Hand of GoD evidently appears, is (as Dr. Whitby juftly obferves,) often expreffed by GoD's coming in the Clouds: (Compare Pfal. xviii. 9. 1. 3, 4. xcvii. 2, 3. civ. 3. Ifa. xix. 1. xxvi. 21. lxvi. 15.) But I think, the Celestial Appearances defcribed by Jofephus, (as above, Note (b) on Luke xxi. 11. pag. 375.) lead us into the exacteft Interpretation of this Text, and greatly illuftrate the Propriety of thefe Expreffions here. (e) Send forth bis Messengers.] Moft of the Tranflations, as well as our own, greatly obfcure this Text, by rendering the Word afyλus, Angels; for tho' it generally fignify those Celestial Spirits, who are on great Occafions the Meffengers of GoD to our World, it is well known, that the Word refers, not to their Nature, but to their Office; and is often applied to Men, and rendered Messengers. See Mark i. 2. Luke vii. 24, 47. ix. 52. 2 Cor. viii. 23. Phil. ii. 25. and Jam, ii. 25. In fome of which Places it fignifies, as here, Preachers of the Gospel, who were to carry on Go D's great Defign of uniting all bis chofen People in one Society under Chrift, as their common Head. Eph. i. 10. (f) Lock 28. LUKE XXI. 28. And when thefe Things begin to come to pafs, then look up, and lift up your Heads; for your Redemption draweth nigh. 390 He delivers the Parable of the Fig-tree. Sect. 162.in their Rebellion and Infidelity. And when thefe Things begin to come to pass, be not you terLuke XXI. rified and difmayed, but rather chearfully look up wards (f), and lift up your Heads with Joy and Affurance; for whatever happens, you will be fecure; and as foon as you fee the firft Appearance of thefe Signs, you may comfortably conclude, that your compleat Redemption and Deliverance draws nigh (g); for many of you will be fafely brought home to the Haven of eternal Peace before these Storms are ended, and the rest of you will not long furvive them. 29 And further to illuftrate what he had been faying, he spake to them a very eafy and familiar Parable, faying, Behold now, [and] learn a Parable from the Example of the Fig-tree, and all the other Trees that drop their Leaves in the Winter: 30 When Buds appear upon the Fig-tree, and its Branch is now become tender, and the Sap rifing in the other Trees, they shoot forth their young Leaves, and begin to open and fpread, you fee and know of your own felves, by the Obfervation you have often made, that Summer is now near at hand, as 31 these are certain Prognoftications of it: So like wife you, when you fhall fee all thefe Things come Root 29 And he fpake to them a Parable, [Now] behold [and learn a Parable of] the Fig-tree, and all the Trees: [MAT. XXIV. 32.MARK XIII. 28.-] 30 When [his Branch is yet tender, and] they now and know of your own felves, hoot forth [Leaves,] ye fee that Summer is now nigh at hand: [MAT.XXIV. —32. MARK XIII.-28.] 31 So likewife ye, when ye [fhall] fee [all] thefe Things come to pafs, know ye that the Kingdom of GoD is nigh at hand, [even at the Doors.] [MAT. XXIV. 33. MARK XIII. 29.] (f) Look upwards: avanuale.] This is an Expreffion, which admirably fuits the Load of Labour and Sufferings, under which the Apoftles would be depreffed in this afflicted State. See Raphel. Annot. ex Herod. pag. 270. (g) Your Redemption draws nigh.] As the Resurrection is the Time, when we shall in Fact be fully redeemed, or delivered from all the fad Confequences of Sin, and therefore is called the Redemption of our Bodies: (Rom. viii. 23. Compare Eph. iv. 30. and Hof. xiii. 14.) So in a lefs proper Senfe, the Deliverance from the Toils and Sorrows, Temptations and Infirmities, of this finful and calamitous Life, may, on the like Principles, be called Redemption. And if we may judge of the Length of the Apostles Lives by the Extent of their Labours, tho' we know not the Time when many of them died, there is Reafon to conjecture it was not till about this Period; which, by the Way, would be an Argument, they were now most of them young Men. (b) This That Generation fhould not pass, till all was fulfilled. 32 Verily I fay unto you, This Generation fhall not pafs away, till all [these Things] be fulfilled. [MAT. XXIV. 34. MARK XIII. 30.] 33 Heaven and Earth fhall pafs away; but my Words shall not pafs away. [MAT. XXIV. 35. MARK XIII. 31.] MARK XIII. 32. But of that Day and that Hour the Angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, [but knoweth no Man, no, not 391 Root in the World, that you may affure your- Sect. 162. felves it shall never be destroyed. And verily I fay unto you, and urge you to ob- Luke XXI. ferve it, as abfolutely neceffary in order to under- 32. ftand what I have been saying, that this Generauntil tion of Men now living shall not pass away, all thefe Things be fulfilled (b); for what I have foretold concerning the Deftruction of the Jewish State is fo near at hand, that some of you shall live to fee it all accomplished with a dreadful Exactnefs; And the reft may die in the Affu- 33 rance of it: For another, and yet more awful Day fhall come, when in a literal Senfe Heaven and Earth fhall pass away, and the whole Fabrick of this vifible World fhall be diffolved before my majestic Presence; but my Words fhall not pass away, till they are perfectly fulfilled, and the Efficacy of them shall remain in the eternal World which fhall fucceed thefe tranfitory Scenes. But tho' Jerufalem fhall be deftroyed, before this Mark XIII. Generation difappear, yet of that great decifive 32. Day, which is appointed for the Diffolution and the Judgment of the World, and of the Hour or Seafon, when it fhall open upon Men, and fhall bring on their final Sentence, there is na one who knows the precife Time (i), neither the Angels in Heaven, nor even the Son of Man himself, (b) This Generation shall not pass away, until all thefe Things be fulfilled.] Tho' Brennius, and Mede, (in his Works, pag. 752.) have here the Honour to be followed by fo great an Authority as Dr. Sykes, (of Christianity, pag. 60.) yet I muft beg Leave to fay, that I cannot think the Texts they collect fufficient to prove, that by this Generation [n yeva au]n] we are here to understand the Jewish Nation thro' all Ages; as if our Lord intended to fay, they should continue a diftinct People to the Judgment Day. What I have expreffed in the Paraphrafe is plainly the most obvious. Senfe of the Words, and feems to me an evident Key to the whole Context; efpecially when compared with Mat. xvi. 28. There be fome Standing here, which shall not taste of Death, till they fee the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom. See Note (i) on that Text, Vol. i. pag. 554. (i) Of that Day and Hour no one knows.] I cannot agree with Dr. Clarke, in referring this Verfe to the Destruction of Jerufalem, the particular Day of which was not a Matter of great Importance; and as for the Seafon of it, I fee not how it could properly be faid to be entirely unknown, after fuch an exprefs Declaration, that it fhould be in that Generation; and yet at fome confiderable Distance, for otherwife there would not have been Room for the gradual Accomplishment of the many Predictions uttered above. It seems therefore much fitter, with Dr. Whitby, (after Grotius,) to explain it of the Last Day, when Heaven and Earth fhall pass away, which is fometimes called that Day with a peculiar Emphafis ;. Phrafe anfwering to the great, or remarkable Day. Compare 2 Tim. i. 12, 18. and iv. 8. |